A Pool of Emotions
by Teslyn
Summary: [edited][reposted] “Sasuke was always stubborn. This time, I’ll make him and his precious village pay,” the blond hissed. [Bonds Not Broken sequel][R&R]
1. Distorted Reflection

**Name: **Distorted Reflection

**Summary: ****"**Sasuke was always stubborn. This time, I'll make him and his precious village pay," the blond hissed.

**Disclaimer: **I tried to bribe Kishimoto for Naruto. He refused. I cried for a year. Oh, come on, I know you've always wanted to know where that river near your house came from.

-

One of the reasons Sasuke wanted Naruto back – just for a day – was to show the fox how much Konoha had changed. After Naruto's death – death, because, well, only the high-ranking officials and ANBU knew about his defection – the villagers realized that Naruto wasn't demon. Hindsight, though completely and utterly useless in many cases, is twenty-twenty. (If only foresight could be that way.)

Of course, this rather drastic change of view could have been helped by the fact that Naruto had 'died' helping Konoha by bringing Sasuke back. If a survey was taken, most people would probably say they wouldn't mind if Naruto returned – of course, he couldn't. The dead don't come back to life, and Naruto's name inscribed upon the memorial stone - an action that Tsunade had fought hard for – made the death more… permanent. Ignorance is bliss, one that the Hokage and high-ranking shinobi and officials were granting the villagers.

Sasuke hoped that if Naruto saw how much better Konoha had gotten, maybe, just maybe, he would be compelled to return.

'_Ha. Wishful thinking_,' the raven thought contemptuously, disgusted with himself.

Sasuke had never been one of those people who had dreams and wishes. Ever since the massacre, life had always been what he made it. But just this once, the Rokudaime Hokage wanted to believe he could make Naruto come back with a simple wish upon a shooting star.

That feeling was intensified by the fact that tomorrow would mark the day that Sasuke confronted Naruto a year ago. For the past year, Kakashi and Sasuke would brood at the memorial stone together monthly. And tomorrow, everyone who was once close to Uzumaki Naruto would join them.

-

Everyone in the dark room knew the purpose of their group; to spread chaos amongst the nations. To make a name for themselves. To gain the fear of all. To avenge themselves upon the villages that hurt them.

No one protested when the Leader declared that their next goal would be to spread chaos in Suna and Kohona, by killing the Kazekage or the new Hokage and framing the other village. The alliance, though strong, would deteriorate instantly if either of the village's kages was assassinated by the other. No one protested out loud, though Itachi, face as impassive as always, managed to convey his doubt concerning Naruto with a passing glance. Said blond stared back levelly, arching a challenging eyebrow.

It seemed that the ex-leaf had buried his feelings for Konoha as well as Itachi. Still, Kisame didn't understand why when both Itachi and Naruto had the perfect opportunities to kill Sasuke… they didn't. Just as he didn't understand why both held back slightly while fighting their own; it was barely noticeable, but they both did it. (Well, Naruto he could understand given the blond's past, the shark-man supposed, but Itachi had never exactly been a cuddly teddy bear, and certainly wasn't now.)

Neither gave an explanation. Maybe Konoha just produced overly-feeling, defective shinobi. After all, nobody else held back against their own villages. In fact, most of them actually went harder on them.

Kisame made a mental note to ask Itachi or Naruto later, but he had a feeling that if he asked Itachi, the Sharingan-master would give him a "This Subject is Taboo" glare, and Naruto would probably just laugh the question off in that special way of his.

The question managed to puzzle Deidara as well. Though every last one of the Akatsuki had a horribly twisted past, none of them were the type of gushy people who opened up and spilled out their emotions. Deidara, though, knew he could always talk to Naruto, and Naruto to Deidara. Then again, two were the most empathetic of the psychotic group, and the only two who would seek out someone to speak to shamelessly.

Only, Naruto didn't speak to Deidara about Konoha as often as Deidara spoke about Iwa, and the times Naruto did speak about Konoha was because a curious Deidara poked, prodded, and generally annoyed the blond into answering.

When Deidara had asked Naruto why he hadn't killed the Sasuke kid, Naruto had shrugged, before answering slowly.

"It was clear Sasuke thinks he can bring me back. If I killed him, he would've thought it was a noble death. But I've got a chance to watch Konoha burn to the ground, and he'll be helpless, thinking I'll change. Sasuke was always stubborn. This time, I'll make him and his pathetic village pay," the blond hissed.

Deidara could understand where his partner was coming from, but it still seemed rather cold and calculated. It seemed like something Itachi would pull, not _Naruto_. Deidara knew that if he had had such a beautiful chance to kill the Tsuchikage, he would have taken it happily, and blown Iwa up afterwards.

Deidara didn't know of anyone else in the Akatsuki who would be so… merciful, especially towards a kage. But then, Naruto had been a pupil of the Copy Nin. It was well known that Hatake-san valued teamwork and a strong bond between teammates before everything else – including the success of the mission. Perhaps, there was part of a bond left between Naruto and his former partner. Doubtful, but plausible given the fact that Naruto's explanation was very out of character.

Normally, Deidara didn't give himself such a headache over his partner's motives (not anymore, at least), but this day merited special attention. Naruto had given absolutely no clue as to what he was thinking when Leader-sama had announced his intentions.

He hadn't spoken up when Leader-sama deliberately assigned Itachi and Kisame, and Naruto and Deidara the task of creating chaos in Konoha, either. Deidara knew that Naruto knew 'creating chaos' entailed killing a bunch of people and perhaps razing a few buildings.

-

Naruto and Deidara had been sent to 'scout' as both Kisame and Itachi were too well-known. Neither wore their cloaks – at this point, that would be suicide. Everyone knew to fear the black cloaks with red clouds. _Everyone_.

Nobody would find two blond-haired civilians dressed in Sand garb strange if they both walked into Konoha, especially since said civilians traveled with the proper documents (forged, of course, but neither of the chuunin at the gate could tell the difference). After all, Sand was allied with the Leaf.

There were some minor problems with sending Naruto, though. The blond had been well loved by the few friends he had made, but the blond promised to do his best to stay out of the sight of his old friends.

He hadn't noticed Hinata walking a little behind them because she'd had her head down as she thought – not an uncommon sight. The results of the rather stupid mistake would be, as Shikamaru would say, 'troublesome.'

Out of all of Naruto's old friends, Hinata might have had it the hardest – she lived with the pain of Naruto's 'death' on her conscience, and she constantly berated herself for being too shy. She mourned the fact that she had been too shy to confront Naruto… and before she could gain enough courage, he had gone and died retrieving Sasuke.

After Naruto's death – to those who knew her – she became more withdrawn and quite than ever, but insanely determined in training. She had become a lovely young woman – a lovely, _unmarried_, young woman. She turned down all dates until the men of Konoha no longer bothered with her, knowing their answer would be a 'no'.

Hinata's family had taken the matter into their own hands, and chosen a man of the appropriate age for their heir. The marriage would be in three months, and Hinata spent most of her time brooding – a most unlady-like habit, as her family constantly told her – and watching the memorial stone, though always hidden. She never joined Sasuke and Kakashi in their silent grieving sessions, though both sensed her presence.

Despite this, Hinata was not the first to see Naruto, though she made the biggest commotion.

It was Sakura, with Rock Lee. Both of them had been eating at Irachiku ramen in honor of Naruto's supposed death. Neither of them were ANBU though both were jounin. Sakura knew of Naruto's defection – after all, she had fairly recently helped to keep Sasuke-kun alive after Naruto's attack – but she couldn't find it in her to enlighten Lee.

It was Sakura who had glanced at the spiky-blond walking with another guy with girl-like hair as they walked by, though her gazed slid past them in favor of settling on Hinata.

"Hinata-chan!" she called, waving the Hyuuga over. Hinata looked up, caught sight of Sakura and Lee, and made her way over slowly.

Sakura smiled at the Hyuuga as she changed course and headed over. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blond Sand civilian look back at them in surprise, his eyes flicking between Hinata, Sakura, and Lee before quickly turning back.

The oddly familiar blue eyes and the child-like surprise of the Sand civilian were too similar to one Uzumaki Naruto.

_'Naruto…'_ Sakura thought,and the tears poured out, as she stared at the two blonds' backs.

"Sakura-chan?" Lee asked, worried. It wasn't like Sakura to just burst into tears out of nowhere, and in public at that – she usually hid her tears for when the two were alone, or with others who understood her pain. It had been three months since the two were married, and Lee was still – and probably would always be – very protective of Sakura and empathetic towards her.

Hinata blinked in confusion, before following Sakura's line of sight to a blond civilian's back.

_'Blond,'_ Hinata thought. And that was all it took before the spiky, unruly blond hair caused her heart to suddenly ache, and it all clicked in her mind.

"Naruto-kun!" she cried, running for the man.

Her cry drew the attention of Sakura, Lee, and many others, including the two civilians. The shorter one, the one that had brought Sakura to tears and prompted Hinata's startled cry, stared at the shy kunoichi with a look akin to incredulity on his face. Something flickered in his blue eyes before it was immediately quelled by a disturbing coldness. His face smoothed out into a blank, terrifying mask.

Hinata caught up to the Sand civilian, breathless.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She asked, barely audible, not daring to look at the man's face, even though she was literally inches from it. She was afraid that it wasn't Naruto, and she'd be absolutely mortified if she had mixed up a random Sand civilian with her long-dead crush.

Naturally, this sparked murmurs among the other people. Hushed whispers of "Naruto?" and "He's back!" and "I thought he died..." could be heard.

Sakura and Lee caught up to Hinata.

"Hello, Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan, Lee. It's been awhile, yeah?" Naruto said casually in an amiable voice, one hand scratching the back of his head sheepishly. (Deidara caught the insulting 'yeah' at the end, and kicked his partner's shins.)

Sakura lunged at the blonde, fist raised, screaming, "YOU FUCKING _LEFT_ US, NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL?!"

The hand dropped suddenly, as the blond dodged her. His friendly, sheepish aura was replaced with cold amusement, and his tone became considerably harsher.

"Don't try to hit me, Sakura-chan. I'm not the boy you used to know… and, unfortunately, Deidara and I weren't to be seen. We didn't quite plan on being recognized by everyone..."

"Naruto, yeah, so many people know you! You seem so loved; it makes me wonder why you left, yeah." Deidara commented sarcastically.

Naruto glared at him and retorted good-naturedly. "And the people of Iwa only though you were a monster with those mouths on your hands. It makes me wonder what drove _you_ to blow up half of it in a dramatic exit." Despite their – seemingly – easy-going banter, something flickered in Naruto's eyes again - anguish could be clearly identified but the other emotion... longing?

The people were getting excited. Clearly, this was the brave Kyuubi-vessel who had died to protect Konoha and bring back Uchiha Sasuke back from the dead!

"Now would be a good time to leave, yeah." Deidara muttered quietly.

"Agreed." Both missing-nins disappeared quickly in a puff of smoke.

-_end_

Uhm… Let me know what you think.

**-****Teslyn**


	2. Watery Mirrors

**Name:** Watery Mirrors

**Disclaimer:** I owned Naruto for a little bit, but then Itachi hunted me down. I don't want to own Naruto characters anymore! D: … so I don't. Kishimoto does (ha!)

**-**

"_What_?" Sasuke hissed.

Judging from his tone, the Hokage was annoyed, angry, and disappointed – a combination usually not good for Uchihas (Itachi being the prime example here.)

"Are you telling me that Naruto was here… yet you let him escape?" The Rokudaime's voice was just a _t__ad_ strained as he struggled and failed to keep his voice even.

Both Sakura and Hinata nodded, ashamed. "H-he… surprised us, H-Hokage-sama. And then h-he disappeared with h-his partner," Hinata spoke up timidly.

_'Narutonarutonaruto, whathaveyou done? Whatwhat- why? __nonoNO__, he couldn't have betrayed us like that – too easygoingseemedsohappy, so __beauitiful__handsomenotkindnotnarutonot_my_n__aruto__ Nono, Naruto's deaddeaddead- _dead_-damnit,__his name's on thememorialstonehe'sDEAD!__'_

Hinata's thoughts were jumbled and chaotic, and after so many years of grieving over the blond, she found it hard to accept the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was _alive_, and part of Akatsuki. It hurt even more when she realized Naruto seemed… _happy_. And with that last thought, with the justification of Naruto's actions – _happiness_ –, Hinata found peace.

"Sasuke… he seemed so, well, natural in his surroundings so to speak – so informal with his partner, exchanging careless words without thinking – like we never did." '_Much, anyways. Sasuke was always too arrogant to indulge in such __conversations__ and I was always berating Naruto for annoying _precious_ Sasuke-kun,' _Sakura thought bitterly.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I don't care!" Sasuke growled as he smashed his fist into the desk, punctuating his words. "Naruto _belongs_ in Konoha! You don't understand! It is his _dream_ to be Hokage! He can't just turn his back on the light he so desperately tried and succeeded to bring _me_ too!"

Hinata's pupil-less eyes gave away none of her feelings, nor did her delicate features. "Of course, Hokage-sama…" Beneath the mask of consent and agreement was fiery disapproval and furious contradictions.

_'__No, Sasuke, _**you** _don't understand. Naruto-kun is happy - Hokage wasn't his dream… it was to be happy, and to be Hokage was the only way he thought he could __fulfill__ that dream. But he's found it now, Hokage-sama. He's found it now – don't take it away from him. Naruto-kun deserves happiness more than any of us.__'_

Hinata left the room, followed by a slightly subdued Sakura.

-

Itachi watch Naruto carefully. Though the fire was small, the smoke stung his Sharingan-deteriorated eyes. The Uchiha himself had no qualms at all about attacking and killing his old comrades, but he doubted Naruto was as indifferent about the matter.

Itachi was always good at reading people, with or without the Sharingan. He prided himself in being able to tell when someone was lying just by the look in their eyes or their demeanor and facial expressions. The eyes were the windows to one's soul… But Itachi didn't really have a soul. His eyes, whether they were normal, glittering dark ice, or red-black terror-inducing weapons, never gave away anything.

Naruto on the other hand… he could never hide his emotions – he was hard put to hide them from idiots like his former friends from Konoha, but he could never conceal them from Itachi. During the first couple of weeks, Naruto had faked happy, wearing that insolent grin that had always deceived everyone in the Leaf.

That grin - so obviously unreal - had disappeared after the first few weeks. Naruto stopped faking happy because he realized he wouldn't be made fun of (well, not any more than the next person) and no one would take malicious pleasure in making him feel worse when he was openly dejected just because they hated the Kyuubi (though pleasure in making him feel worse for other things was almost guaranteed when he got Deidara for a partner). And eventually, that fake smile was replaced with a genuine one, one that he wore when he exchanged careless banters with Deidara, or played a good prank on Kisame.

Obviously Naruto had gotten better at concealing how he felt. That or he really didn't care about Konoha anymore. Though neither case seemed very realistic, Itachi was inclined to agree with the former – he highly doubted Naruto could put his past behind him as easily as the others in the Red Dawn.

Where the idiot's eyes usually gave away every last emotion he felt, at this particular moment, for the first time in Itachi's memory, he couldn't read Naruto. Not even a little bit.

His face was schooled flawlessly – blank and disinterested in life in general. His clear blue eyes, usually wide, spotless windows to his soul and mind, reminded Itachi of his reflection when staring in a pond. His eyes were two watery mirrors that hinted at something more to the apathetic demeanor, yet veiled that something extra so well that Itachi just couldn't work it out.

His observations and thoughts were abandoned when everyone in the vicinity tensed, their senses screaming "CAUTION!" This included the two leaf-spies hidden within the bush.

"Come out, un. We know you're there… pathetic really. And you're supposed to be spies, un." Deidara shook his head mockingly. His mouths molded a clay spider, which he promptly flicked into a bush. An explosion that seemed way too big to emanate from the tiny spider burst to life, scorching the bright green spandex of the Maito Gai.

"Good to see you again, Gai-san." Kisame muttered, voice layered with contempt and sarcasm. Itachi didn't even bother with formalities. Using the Body Flicker technique, he materialized behind Gai, knocking him senseless before the Green Beast of Konoha even knew what happened.

A rustle in the bushes gave away the second spy's position. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!**"** A female voice cried, as wrist-thick cord of fire emitted from the bush. Rolling his eyes, Kisame's hands flashed in quick hand-seals. "Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!" A jet of water enveloped and nullified the remaining Leaf-nin's fire attack.

"Is that you Anko?" Naruto asked calmly, remembering one of the chuunin examiners. "I'm impressed… that you would actually attack S-class ninjas stronger than your precious Orochimaru-sensei…"

Anko dove out of the bush hastily as Deidara flicked yet another spider at her.

Ignoring his jibe, she exclaimed, "_Naruto?_ I thought you died! We _all_ thought you were dead!" Naruto smiled coldly.

"Quite the contrary, Anko. Actually, come to think of it, I think you will be the one dead in, oh I'm betting five minutes. How ironic."

"I call less than a minute, yeah," Deidara grinned, flicking another spider almost lazily.

"Ah, but four to one isn't exactly fair, is it?" Anko retorted, dodging the spider, while keeping an eye on Itachi and Kisame for sneak attacks. Her top priority at the moment was to get back to Konoha and warn her beloved village.

"True enough. We'll let the brat take you on himself." Kisame said, flashing sharp teeth in a menacing grin.

At this point, Anko officially classed Naruto (as well as the rest) as utterly insane. His pupils were slits, though he seemed in perfect control of the Kyuubi. The other three knew it as extreme hatred showing, but for Anko, the eyes were just a minor detail in the grand picture of an _utterly __insane__ murder!_ In that moment, Anko had a terrible feeling that she was going to die, and that Naruto wouldn't regret it one bit.

Forty-seven seconds later, Deidara let out a short laugh. "I win, un."

-

"Hokage-sama! Quick! It's Gai and Anko!" Sasuke's assistant came bursting into his office, breathless.

Sasuke stood quickly, alarmed. "Report." Despite the growing panic, his voice remained calm, Uchiha poker face firmly in place.

"Gai… found – unconscious, patrolling the borders with Anko… - Anko!"

For the second time that day, an incredulous "_What?_" came from Sasuke. Standing, he headed for the hospital, strides wide and quick.

Reaching the hospital, he met up with a somber-faced Sakura. She wasn't stupid – she could probably put one and one together; Naruto and his partner appearing, and Gai and Anko turning up – Gai unconscious and Anko dead.

Stopping short in his tracks, he turned to Sakura. "Get Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, Kakashi… and Hinata," He ordered harshly.

He himself visited Gai. Upon reaching his room, he found that the taijutsu master had come to. "Gai... who did this?" Sasuke asked, though he already knew the terrible answer.

"It was four Akatsuki members... Itachi, Kisame, Deidara... and _Naruto_! Oh, gods, how the flame of youth was corrupted in that young boy by the villagers hatred!" Gai shook his head sadly. During the next seven minutes, Sasuke interrogated Gai, his questions concerning trying to pinpoint the exact location of the Akatsuki (though they had probably moved.) When he had the point fixed in his mind, he thanked Gai and returned to the waiting room for Sakura and the others.

Five minutes later, a red-cheeked Sakura returned with the five other shinobi close behind. When they were assembled, Sasuke gave them a brief explanation. "We're going to look for Naruto."

-

They were barely five miles from the city when a jet of water knocked Sasuke from the tree he was about to depart from.

"My, my, _my_, what a _surprise_, Hokage-sama. I only wish I'd put together a warmer welcome for you," a tauntingly familiar voice hissed in his ear.

_-end_

**-****Teslyn**


	3. Sunny Waters

**Name: **Sunny Watters

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto said I could have Naruto if I didn't make him evil. I declined.

-

"…Naruto." Sasuke whispered, voice barely audible. "Naruto… what have you become? Was it _you_ who killed Anko?"

Naruto grinned sadistically, grabbing Sasuke by the collar of his Hokage robes and hauling him up, stared defiantly into dangerous Sharingan eyes. "Who else, Sixth Hokage?" The word '_hokage_' was layered with sarcasm and contempt. "And I've become what Konoha made me out to be; I am what all shinobi should be: an emotionless weapon. A murderer."

"…"

Sasuke was at lost for words. The harshness and level of anger in Naruto's voice stunned him. He never knew Naruto to be so… angry or cold.

Naruto had always been an ever-smiling, idiot of an innocent, kind, caring genin. Sasuke couldn't remember a time when Naruto wasn't laughing and smiling, and generally living life in that carefree way of his. Where was the eternally happy boy?

Naruto knew _exactly _where that boy went. He'd gone nowhere, because he'd never existed. Sasuke was one of those blind Konoha idiots, as Itachi so often referred to them as. Despite his Sharingan, Sasuke had had as much a chance seeing Naruto's through façade as the villagers had. Consequentially, this age-old, angry… intimidating version of Naruto that had always existed but had never came out into the light took him by surprise.

"Typical. You're going to die soon, and all you can think about is Anko's death. But then, you're a _noble_ Hokage, aren't you. You'd die a thousand times over for Konoha, wouldn't you." It was not a question, but a scornful statement of the truth.

"Naruto… there was a time when you would've to. We're the same… we just took different paths – but Naruto! You showed me the light… it's my turn to bring you back," Sasuke protested weakly.

"Of course Sasuke – we're the same. We were both born in Konoha, and we both grew up there… that's where our similarities start… and end. I would no more die to protect your pathetic village than anyone there would die to protect the Kyuubi vessel."

Sasuke flinched inwardly at his former teammate's words. '_I would no more die to protect _**your**_ pathetic village…'_

He called it _your_ village… not 'our' or even 'Konoha'. _Your_. For the first time, Sasuke realized the severity of the situation. He had been blindingly optimistic about his chances of bringing Naruto back. Now, the future and rate of success seemed darker than ever before.

For the first time, he wasn't seeing Naruto the dead-last-idiot-turned-Akatsuki but Naruto the S-Class criminal in his own right; a dangerous, emotionless shinobi. The boy who had yelled "YOU'RE LATE!" to Kakashi-sensei every single day, despite the fact that Kakashi was _always_ late… the boy who'd work so hard to surpass Sasuke, and eventually did… the boy who'd ask Sakura out on a date on a daily basis… the ramen-obsessed ball of energy and happiness… that boy seemed _so_ far away now, so much a part of a past; Sasuke couldn't find any trace of that boy in the fearsome ninja before him.

And then he realized it was partly his fault. No, screw that – it was _all _his fault. He had had so many chances to prevent this... If on that day when Naruto wanted to talk to Sasuke about feeling alone… if he hadn't ignored him, if he hadn't felt so fucking _superior_, everything would probably be different. If he hadn't run off to Orochimaru for power to kill Itachi, a power that the Snake Sannin couldn't even grant, if he hadn't tried to kill Naruto when he had come to bring Sasuke back, if he hadn't had to have been brought back… _it was all his fault_.

Naruto would probably be the Rokudaime Hokage and married – probably to Hinata or Sakura or any other girl and he'd probably have annoying little blond kids… Maybe Sasuke would have been a normal kid whose favorite hobby as a child hadn't been brooding about his psychotic brother…

Sasuke didn't have time to venture further into his thoughts and 'What If's' as Naruto, still gripping a fistful of his robes threw him into the river. Fuck. Since when had that been there?

When Sasuke's feet hit the stony-embedded bottom of the river, he twisted and pushed off, shooting out of the water and jumping to a tree. Hands forming seals faster than ever before, Sasuke jumped out of the tree as Naruto sent a couple of kunai flying at him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge jet of fire burst from Sasuke's mouth, heading straight for Naruto. The blond didn't even make a move to dodge it; instead, he formed seals of his own before calling out "Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!!" The fire technique sizzled and hissed against the water technique, before both elements dispelled.

Sasuke stared for moment; since when had Naruto been this strong? Since when had he mastered water techniques? He realized quickly that his battle with the Kyuubi wasn't the only one going on. Shikamaru and Neji were fighting with Deidara, the former frantically dodging the lunatic's clay spiders as the latter attempted to block off Deidara's chakra points.

Lee and Sakura were currently engaged with Kisame. Lee managed to land a punch or kick here and there, but overall, their battle was a stalemate. Kisame was surprisingly fast for a ninja of his size, and extremely skilled with his giant sword. Sakura, not wanting to get in the way, mostly watched; she knew she wasn't fast enough to keep up with her husband and his opponent. Besides, she figured she'd need to conserver her chakra to heal people later on.

Itachi was toying with Kakashi (again). The famed Copy-Cat was doing his absolute best to get to Itachi, but so far he hadn't managed to lay a finger on the Uchiha prodigy. Their battle was going to be a landslide victory – for Itachi, once he got bored of playing around. Normally, Itachi was quick and decisive during battles, but he felt he could make an exception for the ninja who wasn't worthy of the Sharingan. So he reverted to playing the cat batting at a ball of yarn – though with much more intensity than a cat would have had. And most cats don't have homicidal tendencies.

Hinata was unsure of what to do, unsure of herself. Though she had gained a lot of self-confidence in the past years, she was still a little unsure of her abilities. She knew she was weaker than everyone here, even though her father had finally acknowledged her as the Hyuuga heiress (she had finally surpassed Hanabi, a feat in which she took pride, though her sister was five years her junior). She knew she would merely get in the way if she tried to fight alongside them, but she still couldn't figure out how to aid her comrades without hindering them as well.

Finally deciding on just standing there and staying out of everyone's way, she watched Sasuke fight Naruto intently.

Clearly, Naruto had the upper hand – hell, he had trained with Itachi, Kisame and whole slew of S-class criminals! Most of the techniques he used were water-style techniques, as he had a huge water source nearby.

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!" was quickly followed by, "Shadow Clone Technique!" Water spikes rapidly formed a circle around Sasuke. Before the spikes could crush him, Sasuke jumped out of the way. Kicking off a tree, he was confronted by three Narutos, each of which hurled kunai at him.

Quickly drawing three shuriken, he threw them at the Narutos, making them dissipate, while dodging the barrage of pointy-objects from hell. Suddenly, Sasuke sensed the real Naruto behind him. Turning, he crossed his hands preparing to take the blow, only to find that the clone dissipated. _Shit! A diversion!_ Twisting mid-air, he faced Naruto. The black-and-red robes blurred as blond suddenly disappeared, using the Body Flicker technique. Something connected with the back of his head. Struggling for consciousness, Sasuke stumbled against the tree, facing Naruto.

He was horrified to find that the Uzumaki was wearing a feral grin, Rasengan in hand. Wordlessly, Naruto walked slowly, almost lazily, towards Sasuke. The Uchiha didn't have time to form a defense – really, he was too weak to do anything but stare in horror as his former comrade rushed on to kill him.

As Naruto moved to shove the Rasengan at Sasuke, something – someone – pushed him out of the way. The jutsu connected solidly, sending Sakura's lithe body flying through a tree and into another with a sickening thud.

-

People say that when one dies, their life flashes before their eyes. As the pain ebbed from Sakura, as she felt her life slipping away, her life didn't flash before her eyes. It was then that she was enlightened to the full truth.

One's life doesn't present itself. The important parts of life skips by. More, if you've been killed and you knew your killer, depending on how well you knew them, all or the most important parts of your life concerning them will flash before your eyes, amongst a few other important events. And the pink-haired kunoichi knew her killer very well.

As various images tumbled before her eyes, Sakura picked out the ones concerning Naruto.

That day when Iruka-sensei announced her team. She had been so dismayed to find she had been placed with Naruto, and so ecstatic to be with Sasuke… so childish of her, really. As events had unfolded, she found Naruto to be the closer, more understanding friend. Until he left, that is.

Flicker. Flicker. Flicker. Flicker...

_"And your dislikes?"_

_"Naruto!"_

Flicker... flicker... flicker...

_"I like Instant Ramen! I don't like the three minutes you have to wait… My dream is to surpass the Hokage… and then, all the people of this village will have to acknowledge my existence!"_

Flicker… flicker… flicker…

With the new enlightenment she had gained with her death looming over her, Sakura saw the deep anguish behind this cheerful, loud statement. The same pain that was eventually the cause of Naruto's defection.

_Naruto facing off against __Haku__, Sasuke's death making him furious and out-of-control_… flicker. Flicker._the__Chunin__ exams, making so many clones when they were with __Kabuto__ (the bastard!)…_flicker. flic-

Abruptly, Sakura realized she was staring at her own body. Something urged her to move on, either to the place where people waited for loved ones to follow, or to the final resting place. _I'll be waiting for you, Lee-kun…_ Sakura went to wait for her loved ones.

-

Naruto watched emotionlessly as Lee cried out Sakura's name, as Sakura murmured, "I'll be waiting…" before her head lolled to the side as her life slipped away. He watched Lee crumple, crying dry, wrenching sobs shamelessly. He felt detached from all feeling.

That detachment showed in his voice as he spoke. "Well that was unexpected… though once again, your ass had to be saved by someone else, Rokudaime. Come on, Deidara. We're done playing here."

Deidara grinned at Naruto, and pouted. "You're such a kill-joy, yeah." Naruto laughed and rolled his eyes, retorting, "And you're not?"

"How can you kill someone precious to you... and the _laug__h_ like nothing happened?" Sasuke snarled. Lee was still crying, Hinata and everyone else standing shock-still. Even Kisame (whose battle pretty much ended when Lee broke down) and Itachi had stopped playing, all eyes on the two.

"Sakura is not someone precious to me - not anymore, at least. Have you ever mourned your dead enemies, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked softly, before leaping to a tree, and disappearing into the setting sun. His shape blurred over the sunny waters of the river as he disappeared into the west, leaving a speechless Sasuke behind.

_-end_

Fear not! The alternate ending will be happier!

**-****Teslyn**


	4. Lake's Serenity

**Name:** Lake's Serenity

**Author's Note:** Alternate Ending; it pretty much follows Sunny Waters, but later on it deviates from the original ending

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Shikamaru. ;-;

* * *

Naruto." Sasuke whispered, voice barely audible. "Naruto… what have you become? Was it _you_ who killed Anko?"

Naruto grinned sadistically, grabbing Sasuke by the collar of his Hokage robes and hauling him up, stared defiantly into dangerous Sharingan eyes. "Who else, Sixth Hokage?" The word '_hokage_' was layered with sarcasm and contempt. "And I've become what Konoha made me out to be; I am what all shinobi should be: an emotionless weapon. A murderer." His harsh words shocked Sasuke, and the Uchiha missed that flicker in Naruto's eyes…

"…"

Sasuke was at lost for words. The harshness and level of anger in Naruto's voice stunned him. He never knew Naruto to be so… angry or cold.

Naruto had always been an ever-smiling, idiot of an innocent, kind, caring genin. Sasuke couldn't remember a time when Naruto wasn't laughing and smiling, and generally living life in that carefree way of his. Where was the eternally happy boy?

Naruto knew _exactly _where that boy went. He'd gone nowhere, because he'd never existed. Sasuke was one of those blind Konoha idiots, as Itachi so often referred to them as. Despite his Sharingan, Sasuke had had as much a chance seeing Naruto's through façade as the villagers had. Consequentially, this age-old, angry… intimidating version of Naruto that had always existed but had never came out into the light took him by surprise.

"Typical. You're going to die soon, and all you can think about is Anko's death. But then, you're a _noble_ Hokage, aren't you. You'd die a thousand times over for Konoha, wouldn't you." It was not a question, but a scornful statement of the truth.

"Naruto… there was a time when you would've to. We're the same… we just took different paths – but Naruto! You showed me the light… it's my turn to bring you back," Sasuke protested weakly.

"Of course Sasuke – we're the same. We were both born in Konoha, and we both grew up there… that's where our similarities start… and end. I would no more die to protect your pathetic village than anyone there would die to protect the Kyuubi vessel."

Sasuke flinched inwardly at his former teammate's words. '_I would no more die to protect _**your**_ pathetic village…'_

He called it _your_ village… not 'our' or even 'Konoha'. _Your_. For the first time, Sasuke realized the severity of the situation. He had been blindingly optimistic about his chances of bringing Naruto back. Now, the future and rate of success seemed darker than ever before.

For the first time, he wasn't seeing Naruto the dead-last-idiot-turned-Akatsuki but Naruto the S-Class criminal in his own right; a dangerous, emotionless shinobi. The boy who had yelled "YOU'RE LATE!" to Kakashi-sensei every single day, despite the fact that Kakashi was _always_ late… the boy who'd work so hard to surpass Sasuke, and eventually did… the boy who'd ask Sakura out on a date on a daily basis… the ramen-obsessed ball of energy and happiness… that boy seemed _so_ far away now, so much a part of a past; Sasuke couldn't find any trace of that boy in the fearsome, melancholy ninja before him.

And then he realized it was partly his fault. No, screw that – it was _all _his fault. He had had so many chances to prevent this... If on that day when Naruto wanted to talk to Sasuke about feeling alone… if he hadn't ignored him, if he hadn't felt so fucking _superior_, everything would probably be different. If he hadn't run off to Orochimaru for power to kill Itachi, a power that the Snake Sannin couldn't even grant, if he hadn't tried to kill Naruto when he had come to bring Sasuke back, if he hadn't had to have been brought back… _it was all his fault_.

Naruto would probably be the Rokudaime Hokage and married – probably to Hinata or Sakura or any other girl and he'd probably have annoying little blond kids… Maybe Sasuke would have been a normal kid whose favorite hobby as a child hadn't been brooding about his psychotic brother…

Sasuke didn't have time to venture further into his thoughts and 'What If's' as Naruto, still gripping a fistful of his robes threw him into the river. Fuck. Since when had that been there?

When Sasuke's feet hit the stony-embedded bottom of the river, he twisted and pushed off, shooting out of the water and jumping to a tree. Hands forming seals faster than ever before, Sasuke jumped out of the tree as Naruto sent a couple of kunai flying at him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge jet of fire burst from Sasuke's mouth, heading straight for Naruto. The blond didn't even make a move to dodge it; instead, he formed seals of his own before calling out "Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!!" The fire technique sizzled and hissed against the water technique, before both elements dispelled.

Sasuke stared for moment; since when had Naruto been this strong? Since when had he mastered water techniques? He realized quickly that his battle with the Kyuubi wasn't the only one going on. Shikamaru and Neji were fighting with Deidara, the former frantically dodging the lunatic's clay spiders as the latter attempted to block off Deidara's chakra points.

Lee and Sakura were currently engaged with Kisame. Lee managed to land a punch or kick here and there, but overall, their battle was a stalemate. Kisame was surprisingly fast for a ninja of his size, and extremely skilled with his giant sword. Sakura, not wanting to get in the way, mostly watched; she knew she wasn't fast enough to keep up with her husband and his opponent. Besides, she figured she'd need to conserver her chakra to heal people later on.

Itachi was toying with Kakashi (again). The famed Copy-Cat was doing his absolute best to get to Itachi, but so far he hadn't managed to lay a finger on the Uchiha prodigy. Their battle was going to be a landslide victory – for Itachi, once he got bored of playing around. Normally, Itachi was quick and decisive during battles, but he felt he could make an exception for the ninja who wasn't worthy of the Sharingan. So he reverted to playing the cat batting at a ball of yarn – though with much more intensity than a cat would have had. And most cats don't have homicidal tendencies.

Hinata was unsure of what to do, unsure of herself. Though she had gained a lot of self-confidence in the past years, she was still a little unsure of her abilities. She knew she was weaker than everyone here, even though her father had finally acknowledged her as the Hyuuga heiress (she had finally surpassed Hanabi, a feat in which she took pride, though her sister was five years her junior). She knew she would merely get in the way if she tried to fight alongside them, but she still couldn't figure out how to aid her comrades without hindering them as well.

Finally deciding on just standing there and staying out of everyone's way, she watched Sasuke fight Naruto intently.

Clearly, Naruto had the upper hand – hell, he had trained with Itachi, Kisame and whole slew of S-class criminals! Most of the techniques he used were water-style techniques, as he had a huge water source nearby.

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!" was quickly followed by, "Shadow Clone Technique!" Water spikes rapidly formed a circle around Sasuke. Before the spikes could crush him, Sasuke jumped out of the way. Kicking off a tree, he was confronted by three Narutos, each of which hurled kunai at him.

Quickly drawing three shuriken, he threw them at the Narutos, making them dissipate, while dodging the barrage of pointy-objects from hell. Suddenly, Sasuke sensed the real Naruto behind him. Turning, he crossed his hands preparing to take the blow, only to find that the clone dissipated. _Shit! A diversion!_ Twisting mid-air, he faced Naruto. The black-and-red robes blurred as blond suddenly disappeared, using the Body Flicker technique. Something connected with the back of his head. Struggling for consciousness, Sasuke stumbled against the tree, facing Naruto.

He was horrified to find that the Uzumaki was wearing a feral grin, Rasengan in hand. Wordlessly, Naruto walked slowly, almost lazily, towards Sasuke. The Uchiha didn't have time to form a defense – really, he was too weak to do anything but stare in horror as his former comrade rushed on to kill him.

Naruto raised his hand to deal Sasuke the final blow when a blurred shape shoved the Uchiha out of the way. Standing in front of him now, kunai bared and Byakugan-related veins showing, was Hinata.

He moved to kill Hinata anyway – but his heart stopped him.

During the months before his defection, Naruto had noticed how he had become attracted to the shy Hyuuga's quietness. He had liked the feeling that sparked between them when her eyes rose to meet his, and he had contented himself with staring at her intently, watching every move she made.

Really, he wasn't as stupid as people thought. He'd always known that Hinata liked him; he was much more observant than people gave him credit for. He just hadn't reciprocated the Hyuuga's feelings, so as to save her shame and hurt, he'd pretended he hadn't noticed.

During those months, he'd wanted to be with her so badly – he realized that they could make the perfect couple, each of them loving the other beyond reason.

But the Hyuuga clan wasn't exactly fond of him – even if Neji liked him, the prodigy hardly had a say in how the rest of the clan felt. What grated was the fact that it was all because of the goddamn Kyuubi trapped in his belly. So he hadn't approached Hinata.

"I – I cannot kill you, Hinata… chan." His words were slow, as if he didn't believe what he was saying. His words stumbled over the 'Hinata-chan', unsure of how a missing-nin was supposed to act towards someone who had captured and firmly held his heart.

He turned his back on her. Twisting his head to look at her one last time, he shook it sadly. "Goodbye."

And then he disappeared, leaping through the trees and into the setting sun.

-

"Hokage-sama… an unidentified civilian came to the gates and requested an audience with you." Sasuke looked up as an assistant came in, barely processing what he heard.

He had developed a habit of staring unfocused at something ever since his battle with Naruto over two months ago. "Bring him in." He knew his assistant was wary of the man, so to ease the man's worries, he added, "I'm not the Hokage for nothing." _Though Naruto easily beat me…_

The attendant nodded.

Five minutes later, the man returned with a civilian garbed in Suna dress, with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes. Sasuke's shinobi senses screamed 'caution!'

"Can I help you?" He asked, turning on his Sharingan and focusing on the man.

The genjustu wavered before his red-black eyes.

"I want to come back, teme. For someone who brought be back to the light."

-

The Hyuuga family had taken matters into their own hands. Hinata was getting married today, to someone she barely even knew. The Hyuugas didn't understand why Hinata had closed herself off from the rest of Konoha, and frankly, they didn't exactly care. Only Neji knew the truth, and he wasn't about to tell anyone.

And that was how Hinata found herself on the aisle, staring into the face of a cute man her age for the third time in her life, speaking marriage vows. She glanced west – something she frequently did, as Naruto had disappeared into the west last time she saw him.

"…If anyone has any reason as to why this couple should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." The families and friends gathered collectively held their breath though no one would have any objections. No one ever did, but it was still a dramatic part of the wedding.

"I do," a voice rang out. As a group, everyone turned to face the speaker. Naruto was leaning against doors of the building, wearing the vest of a jounin, leaf hitai-ate holding back his spiky blond hair, blue eyes sparkling with msicheif and hidden intentions. Hinata watched her soul mate, face calm and serene as a lake on a windless day.

-

Hyuuga Hinata finds herself in the arms of her long-time crush. She needs to be selfish just this once; she needs to hear him say it. '_Say you love me,_' she silently begs.

He does.

'_Come with me to Akatsuki,' _his eyes plead.

She does.

Come morning, Konoha finds themselves one jounin and one Hyuuga heiress short.

-_end_

**-Teslyn**


End file.
